Many stogies will be smoked, cocktails consumed and hors d'oeuvres devoured at Doggy Style -- a guys-night-out affair scheduled for 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday, October 13, at Phoenix Greyhound Park, 3801 East Washington Street. Though the event targets the high-testosterone crowd, it's open to bash-crashers of all genders and persuasions. While betting on the pups will cost you, food and drinks are on the house, and there's no cover. If that's not incentive enough, there'll also be "funny money" gambling, fashion models flitting about, old-school background spins by DJ Smite, and an appearance by Chuey the Rock 'n' Roll Midget. It's rumored that the last will be employed as a portable smorgasbord, wearing a sombrero filled with munchies. "The event's gonna be off the hook," says a Doggy Style spokesperson. Git ya bad self down there, dawg. Call 602-273-7181 or visit www.phoenixgreyhoundpark.com.
FRI 14
Alwun House transforms itself into a house of horrors with its sixth annual "Monster's Menagerie" art exhibit, opening with a reception at 8 p.m. Friday, October 14. The invitational installation showcases multimedia works by 10 Phoenix artists specializing in "a raw-edged, exhilarating range of supernatural, surreal, and creature fantasy art," says Alwun House director Kim Moody, who adds that there will also be "local satirical and grade-B horror-movie spoofs." Featured artists include Baron Dixon, Steve Gompf, April Anderson, Tony Richey, Stephanie Ringler, M.B. Hanrahan, Robert Anderson, Larry LoPresti, Johnny Braden, and Mel Rose. The exhibit continues through November 4. Viewing is free. Alwun is located at 1204 East Roosevelt Street. Call 602-253-7887 or visit www.alwunhouse.org.
SAT 15
How do you say "yuk it up" en español? The Anglo term doesn't easily lend itself to translation, so let's just say that the comics at the Original Latino Comedy Night will irse contentísimo ("laugh all the way to the bank") when they play Mesa Arts Center's Ikeda Theater on Saturday, October 15. The extremely popular touring show -- which is performed in English, not Spanish, by the way -- is likely to sell out the 1,600-seat Ikeda, so nab those tix quick. Headliner Rudy Moreno has made numerous TV appearances, from Everybody Loves Raymond to ER to the NBC miniseries Kingpin, and his cohorts -- Shayla Rivera and Darren "Rooster" Carter -- are equally decorated purveyors of the comedic arts. Rivera was recently named "Funniest Latina" by the prestigious "Latin 2015" organization, and the Rooster appeared in the film Be Cool, the sequel to Get Shorty, starring John Travolta and Danny DeVito. Though the show is mostly good, clean fun, it's an 18-and-over affair, so prepare yourself for a little comedia azul. MAC is located at 1 East Main Street. Tickets range from $20 to $25. Call 480-644-6500 or visit www.latinocomedynight.com.
SUN 16
Spandex jocks in their pointy-headed helmets will be as thick as thieves at the second annual Tour de Scottsdale, which draws hundreds of bikers from across the country for marathon 30- and 70-mile rides through the northeast Valley's lush desert landscape. Both treks begin and end on Market Street at DC Ranch, located at the intersection of Thompson Peak Parkway and Pima Road in Scottsdale. The 70-miler starts at 7:30 a.m. and circumnavigates the McDowell Mountains. The 30-miler follows at 8, taking cyclists on a circular route up Scottsdale Road and through Cave Creek. There's also a 2.5-mile Family Fun Ride at 8:30 and a related festival that begins at 9. Racing awards are handed out at 11. Proceeds benefit two nonprofits, the McDowell Sonoran Land Trust and Rebuilding Together. For registration or other information, visit www.dcbadventures.com or www.active.com.
MON 17
Watch out, Anne Rice, there's a young-blood vamp breathing down your neck. Valley author Stephenie Meyer has just released her first novel, Twilight, a dandy little thriller about "vampirism and young love" that's already been optioned by Paramount/MTV Films. Meyer's breezily seductive book, aimed at the young-adult market, is about a woman who's played for a sucker by a mysterious, toothy guy -- think Dark Shadows, only lighter. Meyer signs and discusses the book at 7 p.m. Monday, October 17, at Changing Hands Bookstore, 6428 South McClintock Drive in Tempe. Admission is free. Call 480-730-0205 or visit www.changinghands.com.
TUE 18
Dick Dale wails, dude. The California Stratocaster master single-handedly invented surf rock in the '50s, and is sort of a ne'er-do-well older brother of the Beach Boys, who proceeded to mainstream the surf sound for public consumption. Still shreddin' at 68, the self-taught surfer-turned-rocker has a unique -- and we don't use that word lightly -- style: He plays a right-handed guitar left-handed and upside down, with the strings situated ass-backward, bass string at the bottom, and the chords transposed, pretzel-like, to match the sounds percolating in Dale's one-of-a-kind skull. See to believe. Dale performs on Tuesday, October 18, at the Rhythm Room, 1019 East Indian School Road. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 in advance, $27 at the door. Call 602-265-4842 or 480-784-4444 or visit www.rhythmroom.com.
WED 19
Coffee is the new currency, the fuel that flows through our veins and greases society's gaskets. Hell, we might as well fill our gas tanks with the stuff, now that a gallon of diesel and a mocha latte clock in at approximately the same price. In fact, our collective caffeine jones has even begun to affect the world's economy and U.S. foreign policy, as the New Yorker pointed out in its review of the book Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World by author/journalist/raconteur Mark Pendergrast. Pendergrast is a simultaneously funny and erudite fellow known for his raucously informative presentations about the creeping-bean virus. He'll make a pit stop in Stage 2 at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Arts, 7374 East Second Street, in conjunction with SMoCA's ab-fab "Tea and Coffee Towers" exhibit. Get your buzz on at 7 p.m. Wednesday, October 19. Admission is $9, $7 for members. Call 480-994-2787 or visit www.ScottsdaleArts.org.
